City of London Corporation supports DIT fintech mission to India

The City of London Corporation is working with the Department for International Trade to help UK tech companies break into the Indian market.

Officials will travel to Mumbai next week alongside 10 firms, including Digital Shadows and Smart Pension, to take part in the three-day long Fintegrate conference, which takes place at Bombay Stock Exchange from 27 February to 1 March 2018. A roundtable is also being held alongside PWC India.

The visit is part of a series of planned fintech activities being held in the UK and India by the City Corporation aimed at helping UK fintechs take advantage of the opportunities offered by India’s growing digital consumer base.

The events follow the launch of the City of London Corporation’s Asia Next Decade campaign, a year-long initiative asking businesses in the UK and abroad to help shape the organisation’s work across Asia over the next ten years.

Talking about the visit to Mumbai, the City of London Corporation’s Special Adviser for Asia Sherry Madera said:

“The UK is a world leader in fintech and by some estimates home to around 1,600 fintech companies. India’s market is advancing quickly and the market for fintech alone is projected to be £20 billion in 2020. It makes sense for us to build trade bridges in this important sector in the future of finance.

“After the UK leaves the European Union, increasing trade with countries like India will be crucial. Fintech is one area where we are well placed to do this.”

Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion at the Department for International Trade said:

“The UK is a world leader in the technology industry, and it was inspiring to see the connections between UK and Indian companies on my recent visit to Mumbai.

“The opportunities for growth are plenty, and as an international economic department we will continue to use trade missions not only to boost UK exports, but also to help businesses of all sizes forge ties and build cultivate relationships with potential buyers and investors.”

Dan McLaughlin, Head of International at Smart Pension said:

"This mission represents a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate our world-leading pension technology, as more nations look for solutions as they face the demographic challenges of an ageing population. By 2050, India will have over 200m people aged over 65 and we firmly believe that efficient, user-centric technology - supported by pension auto enrolment - is a key way to ensure citizens have access to high quality retirement provision.

"This trip is part of our long-term plans to export our award-winning technology overseas. It is an honour to be a member of this trade delegation and we look forward to meeting like-minded people in India.”

This year the City of London celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Indian Representative Office in Mumbai. Working alongside partner organisations here and in India for over a decade, the office actively promotes closer relations between India and the UK in financial services.

ENDS

For further information please contact the City of London Corporation’s Media Officer for Asia Nathan Rodgers onNathan.rodgers@cityoflondon.gov.ukor 07864 625086.